Rowland Meyrick target for Into Overdrive

Mark Walford’s charge pushed L’Homme Presse close in Rehearsal Chase.

Into Overdrive, who chased home Cheltenham Gold Cup hopeful L’Homme Presse at Newcastle on Saturday, will be aimed at the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day.

The fast-improving seven-year-old signed off last season with three successive handicap chase victories, the last of them coming in novice company over three miles at Perth.

The Mark Walford-trained gelding opened this season in similar fashion when taking a competitive handicap at Wetherby over and extended two miles and three furlongs.

But it was his one-length defeat by L’Homme Presse Saturday’s Rehearsal Chase, albeit in receipt of 26lb, that convinced many that his best is yet to come.

Walford said: “We have got another 4lb for that run and I didn’t think they’d put L’Homme Presse up to 170, but they have moved us accordingly as well.

“But Into Overdrive still looks very progressive. I don’t think two and a half miles or three miles makes much difference to him.

“The likely target will be the Rowland Meyrick on Boxing Day. I think he has a big one in him.”

The Sherriff Hutton handler, who has enjoyed his best start to the season in terms of winners and prize money, has seen Into Overdrive raised 30lb since scoring at Carlisle in March, but says the latest 4lb hike is fair.

He added: “We have shown how much we need to step up to get into Grade One company and he would still have 20-odd pounds to find, which is not impossible, but we will definitely stick to decent handicaps with good prize money. We won a good pot at Wetherby and I do think there is another one in him.

“The 4lb rise didn’t seem unreasonable. I just didn’t think they’d want to put L’Homme Presse up to the same mark as the likes of Constitution Hill and Kauto Star and things like that – but he has, so the handicapper obviously rates the race very highly.

“We probably got away lightly with 6lb rise at Wetherby – he could easily have put us up seven or eight pounds that day at least, so we can’t complain too much.

“Happygolucky (third) has got form in the book already and to me, it looked a very strong race at Newcastle. It was a proper type of race, with a Gold Cup horse carrying top-weight and a few decent handicappers, of which we are one of those.”

Into Overdrive now has plenty of options and is trip versatile, according to Walford.

He said: “Going forward after Boxing Day, there is a two and a half-miler (Paddy Power New Year’s Day Handicap Chase) at Cheltenham as well.

“There is the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster towards the end of January. There is the Ultima or the Kim Muir, something like that, at the Festival. There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before that, but it is nice to be thinking about races like that.

“If it is quite softish ground on Boxing Day, I wouldn’t mind dropping back to two-and-a-half and go to Cheltenham instead, but if the ground is half decent, he showed at Newcastle that he stays very well, so I would be keen to stick at three miles, unless the ground goes soft.”

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